Internet Explorer 10 finally released for Windows 7

Almost, but not quite, identical to the Windows 8 version.

Four months after Microsoft released Internet Explorer 10 with and for Windows 8, Redmond has finally released a version of the company's newest browser for Windows 7 users in 95 other languages too. More than 700 million people now have access to the company's most up-to-date browser.

The new browser will be available as an optional update immediately. Anyone with the release preview installed will have it sent as an "important" update. That's significant because Windows Update will, in its default configuration, install it silently and automatically. Over the coming months, Microsoft will classify Internet Explorer 10 as "important" in more and more markets to ensure it is installed automatically as widely as possible.

This marks a significant change from Microsoft's past practices. Traditionally, the company has released new browsers only as optional updates, and further, as interactive updates that required clicking through a EULA before installation actually took place. In late 2011, the company changed this policy, converting Internet Explorer 9 to an automatic ("important") update.

Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 7 will be near-identical to its Windows 8 counterpart. This includes features such as support for the Pointer Events touch API and hardware acceleration using Direct2D and DirectWrite. To that end, installing Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 7 requires the installation of a platform update that brings Windows 7's version of these APIs in line with Windows 8.

The controversial Do Not Track feature intended to reduce the ability of companies to track user behavior online will also be enabled by default.

There will be one important difference between the versions, however. Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8 includes an embedded version of Flash that gets its updates from Windows Update, rather than through Adobe's installer. On Windows 7, Flash will not be embedded. Instead, it will use the same ActiveX plugin as Internet Explorer 9 did. Updates will have to be installed using Adobe's updater, not Microsoft's.

I wish they'd do this on Windows 8, too. Adobe's auto-updater seems to work just fine; by not bundling it they remove the middle-man aspect of waiting Microsoft to release an update if a security patch comes out of cycle for them.

Plus, it means if you don't want it installed at all, well, you don't have to have it installed.

In my experience, Adobe's auto-updater usually only sometimes runs, and pretty much only prompts for updates on initial system startup (but usually not before a browser and already been loaded, which then needs to be killed for the updater to work). It also has had issues in the past with UAC elevation from a non-admin account.

I wish they'd do this on Windows 8, too. Adobe's auto-updater seems to work just fine; by not bundling it they remove the middle-man aspect of waiting Microsoft to release an update if a security patch comes out of cycle for them.

Plus, it means if you don't want it installed at all, well, you don't have to have it installed.

From a corporate standpoint though, this feature would be fantastic. We have issues with non-admin accounts being constantly barraged with Adobe Updater requests (and Java is another problem) that they cannot run. Incorporating this update with Windows Updates would be a godsend, if anything as a timesaver.

It would have been nice if MS had released IE10 for Vista. I mean given that underneath the skin Windows 7 is really just Vista Mark 2 and therefore they are very similar, how hard could it be? Mind you its not really such a big deal, IE9 is really not that bad and there's plenty of other browsers to choose from :-)

(Oh and just to head off the anti Vista troll comments; I run both Vista and Win 7, and although I like Win 7; Vista is fine as well and very stable - providing of course it's running on modern hardware and has been set-up correctly and service pack 2 installed and all the updates since.)

I'm not seeing it on any of my machines. Does IE10 show up for anyone else, or do I just have a different definition of immediately?

Like most Windows updates, I imagine that it should read "will start rolling out immediately," or some such. Even their ZOMG WORLD ON FIRE zero-day patches get staggered roll-outs, based on region/timezone/something-or-other. That's why I have my automated updates set for Wednesday Morning 3AM, rather than for patch Tuesday. (There's also a Simon and Garfunkel connection there, but that would be off topic.)

Having IE updates marked as " important" is long over due. Personally I think there is a strong argument for having them marked as critical. IE 6-8 have been hanging around way too long.

Agreed.

The problem I have is that I need IE 8 for one of the applications I use. Even IE 9's compatibility mode doesn't work. Now, I realize that this is the vendor's fault and not MS's, but it still pisses me off that I have to keep an older version of IE just for this one application. Otherwise, I use Chrome for everything else.

I'm going to give IE10 a shot, but I'm probably just going to have to uninstall it shortly afterwards.

I wish they'd do this on Windows 8, too. Adobe's auto-updater seems to work just fine; by not bundling it they remove the middle-man aspect of waiting Microsoft to release an update if a security patch comes out of cycle for them.

Plus, it means if you don't want it installed at all, well, you don't have to have it installed.

Adobe's auto-update has never worked right for me. On the occasions it does find an update, it always prompts me to update instead of automatically updating and then asks me again if I want to enable automatic updates. WTF.

Eventually, I'd like forced, silent updates, like Chrome (except in corporate environments, of course). It shouldn't really be an option. Though with all the leaks of Windows Blue, IE 11 will be coming out in the next few months, and I guess we'll see how that works.

The one reason, I think, that Chrome is more up-to-date is because people barely even see it. They close Chrome one day and then get the update when it reopens. IE needs the same kind of thing. Oh...and extensions. Especially since Google is now making some moves to make the dev of Ad Block Plus upset, Microsoft has a chance to court the guy and make headway into normal extensions.

Has this version broken font-rendering as both versions of IE 10 on Windows 8? Did MS intentionally broke one of the most important features for all PC users? Someone must tell MS there are no High-DPI PC monitors out there ( very few exceptions ). It's known that MS ignored PC users on Windows 8, but font-degradation on Metro UI, Metro Apps and both versions of IE, is truly shame. I'll download it only if it kept the normal, Cleartype-assisted font-rendering as on IE9. We're talking about browsers while font-rendering is one of the most -if not the top- important features, and MS blew it! It's incomprehensible!

Meanwhile, Chrome has stuck with GDI as we're still on XP. They have "Enable Directwrite in Chrome" bug open for long time, but nothing is happening.

Currently only on Firefox you can get the best font-rendering. Full, but tweaked Directwrite according the font-families and sizes you're seeing. The guys at Mozilla got font-rendering right.

On a related note, MS should create two distinct Operating Systems. Windows 9 for PC & Windows 9 for Tablet. On Windows 9 for PC, remove all Tablet-related bloat, bring back Start Button, update Media Player to version 13 with some much needed improvements and additional formats, and lastly, update all Desktop Icons to modern 2D ones.

Windows 9 SOLD!

P.S. Yeah, I know, I know... The font rendering on you ( IE10/Win8 ) is perfect. It's something on my end... /s

The problem I have is that I need IE 8 for one of the applications I use. Even IE 9's compatibility mode doesn't work. Now, I realize that this is the vendor's fault and not MS's

Oh, but it is Microsoft's fault as well.

They build all kinds of quirky proprietory crap into IE6-8. Not only weren't they standards compliant, they also didn't respect each other's "standards" either, so there is stuff that will work in IE7 but not IE6 or IE8.

When you code that kind of bullsh*t, you share responsibility with those who start coding for that bullsh*t.

Has this version broken font-rendering as both versions of IE 10 on Windows 8? Did MS intentionally broke one of the most important features for all PC users? Someone must tell MS there are no High-DPI PC monitors out there ( very few exceptions ). It's known that MS ignored PC users on Windows 8, but font-degradation on Metro UI, Metro Apps and both versions of IE, is truly shame. I'll download it only if it kept the normal, Cleartype-assisted font-rendering as on IE9. We're talking about browsers while font-rendering is one of the most -if not the top- important features, and MS blew it! It's incomprehensible!

Meanwhile, Chrome has stuck with GDI as we're still on XP. They have "Enable Directwrite in Chrome" bug open for long time, but nothing is happening.

Currently only on Firefox you can get the best font-rendering. Full, but tweaked Directwrite according the font-families and sizes you're seeing. The guys at Mozilla got font-rendering right.

On a related note, MS should create two distinct Operating Systems. Windows 9 for PC & Windows 9 for Tablet. On Windows 9 for PC, remove all Tablet-related bloat, bring back Start Button, update Media Player to version 13 with some much needed improvements and additional formats, and lastly, update all Desktop Icons to modern 2D ones.

Windows 9 SOLD!

P.S. Yeah, I know, I know... The font rendering on you ( IE10/Win8 ) is perfect. It's something on my end... /s

I realize you weren't really asking a question and were mostly looking for an excuse to rant, but the answer to your question is "no".

The problem I have is that I need IE 8 for one of the applications I use. Even IE 9's compatibility mode doesn't work. Now, I realize that this is the vendor's fault and not MS's

Oh, but it is Microsoft's fault as well.

They build all kinds of quirky proprietory crap into IE6-8. Not only weren't they standards compliant, they also didn't respect each other's "standards" either, so there is stuff that will work in IE7 but not IE6 or IE8.

When you code that kind of bullsh*t, you share responsibility with those who start coding for that bullsh*t.

Well 7 and 8 were a move towards standards compliance. Usually, standards compliant websites run just fine in 7 and especially 8. Standards compliant websites almost never worked in 6 unless they were just text. Sure, 7 and 8 both had lots of problems, but I really do think they were work in progress releases while MS improved Trident. And now IE 9 and 10 are the most standards compliant browsers Microsoft has ever produced. They still have a lot of work to do of course, but they are getting there.

1. I always keep selecting "notify me", and it always keeps changing it back to "allow Adobe to install" on next launch.2. It usually pops up in the most inconvenient moment (say when I need to do something important and I am in a hurry), it cannot be minimized and its window has the TOPMOST attribute as if it was the most important thing on my PC. If you select "remind me later" it will not remind you until next power cycle.3. Latest update opens browser asking me to manually download an update which also includes other crap I don't want.

In my experience, Adobe's auto-updater usually only sometimes runs, and pretty much only prompts for updates on initial system startup (but usually not before a browser and already been loaded, which then needs to be killed for the updater to work). It also has had issues in the past with UAC elevation from a non-admin account.

True, Adobe's autoupdater is patchy at best, but Microsoft's bundling the updater into Windows Update means third party updater software won't update Adobe for IE so if a patch is released and Microsft is dicking around, the ONLY way to patch Flash issues is to manually go to Adobe's site and download the IE addon.

In my experience, Adobe's auto-updater usually only sometimes runs, and pretty much only prompts for updates on initial system startup (but usually not before a browser and already been loaded, which then needs to be killed for the updater to work). It also has had issues in the past with UAC elevation from a non-admin account.

True, Adobe's autoupdater is patchy at best, but Microsoft's bundling the updater into Windows Update means third party updater software won't update Adobe for IE so if a patch is released and Microsft is dicking around, the ONLY way to patch Flash issues is to manually go to Adobe's site and download the IE addon.

Considering the vast majority of people don't use third-party updater software, I'd call this a huge net win for the Internet.